2012 Year End Top 25 Best-Selling Cars In America

If asked at the beginning of 2012 if the Toyota Camry would end the year as the best-selling car in America, I'd have likely said, "Probably." If asked if it would do so with 31% increases, if three of next five best-selling cars would post gains of more than 40%, and if only five of the 25 best-selling cars in America would post year-over-year declines, I'd have said, "No."

In fact, Camry sales shot up to nearly 405,000 in a climate that supported only negligible job growth, in an economy that's sputtering at best. And it's not as though the Camry was the only machine to post surprisingly high volumes. Ford F-Series sales grew 10% to 645K.

Each of America's 22 best-selling passenger cars in 2012 found at least 100,000 buyers. Last year only the top 18 accomplished that feat. No car sold more than 400,000 copies in 2011, and only one sold more than 300,000 times. In 2012, the second, third, fourth and fifth-best-selling cars all sold more frequently than the second-best-selling car of 2012. That car was the Nissan Altima, and it dropped to fourth spot in 2012. Ford's Fusion fell from fourth to seventh, making way for the Ford Focus to own the title of America's best-selling American-badged car.

All 266 Vehicles Ranked By 2012 Year End U.S. Sales

What else has changed?  Not much: the Chevrolet Camaro hung on to its top 25 spot (falling to 25th from 22nd). Mercedes-Benz's C-Class fell off, but not because of falling sales. The only other car missing from last year's top 25 is the Dodge Charger, replaced by Dodge's own Avenger. That C-Class disappearance made way for another German car, however. The Tennessee-built Volkswagen Passat ranked 19th in U.S. passenger car sales in 2012.

You can find detailed historical monthly and yearly U.S. sales figures for any make and model by making your selection from the dropdown menu at GCBC's Sales Stats home. Other best seller lists are linked up at the bottom of this post. Get to know 2012's top 25 best-selling cars in America before running off, though.

Updated @ 7:00 PM AT on 01.07.2013 with full Prius figures

Rank	Best-Selling Car	2012	2011	% Change
#1	Toyota Camry	404,886	308,510	+ 31.2%
#2	Honda Accord	331,872	235,625	+ 40.8%
#3	Honda Civic	317,909	221,235	+ 43.7%
#4	Nissan Altima	302,934	268,981	+ 12.6%
#5	Toyota Corolla/Matrix	290,947	240,259	+ 21.1%
#6	Ford Focus	245,922	175,717	+ 40.0%
#7	Ford Fusion	241,263	248,067	- 2.7%
#8	Chevrolet Cruze	237,758	231,732	+ 2.6%
#9	Toyota Prius	236,659	136,463	+ 73.4%
	Prius Liftback	147,507	128,064	+ 15.2%
	Prius V	40,669	8399	+ 384%
	Prius C	35,733	-----	-----
	Prius Plug-In	12,750	-----	-----
#10	Hyundai Sonata	230,605	225,961	+ 2.1%
#11	Chevrolet Malibu	210,951	204,808	+ 3.0%
#12	Hyundai Elantra	202,034	186,361	+ 8.4%
#13	Volkswagen Jetta	170,424	177,360	- 3.9%
#14	Chevrolet Impala	169,351	171,434	- 1.2%
#15	Kia Optima	152,399	84,590	+ 80.2%
#16	Chrysler 200	125,476	89,413	+ 40.3%
#17	Mazda 3	123,361	102,417	+ 20.4%
#18	Subaru Outback	117,553	104,405	+ 12.6%
#19	Volkswagen Passat	117,023	22,835	+ 413%
#20	Kia Soul	115,778	102,267	+ 13.2%
#21	Nissan Versa	113,327	99,730	+ 13.6%
#22	Nissan Sentra	106,395	114,991	- 7.5%
#23	BMW 3-Series	99,602	94,371	5.5%
#24	Dodge Avenger	96,890	64,023	+ 51.3%
#25	Chevrolet Camaro	84,391	88,249	- 4.4%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC 
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales

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